I know it has been a long time since I have posted here, but it felt weird because I had the tiniest bowl ever and you guys all have these awesome tanks!!!

But now, I'm so excited, I got a new 5 gallon tank for my male Betta, Harry!

I got the Aqueon Mini Bow 5 gal. Is this a good tank? It comes with a very quiet filter, and I am going to be adding a heater and thermometer soon. I am still too young to get a job, and my Mom won't buy me things for my pets! But I get $10 a week for allowence, and that seems to feed my need!

But, last night was Harry's first night in the tank, and he seems kinda freaked out, obviously.

I'd say right now the next most important thing is the heater and thermometer. Bettas like 78-80 degree water. A 25 watt heater should be good and make sure you always monitor the temp so it doesn't get too hot or too cold. Look at the temp daily. And weekly water changes also! He should be good to go :)

It might but unless you're keeping it on all the time, the temp will go up and then come back down when it's off. And fish need to have time in the dark to sleep otherwise they get stressed out. So the heater is the way to go!

Hydor theo 25 watt is what I use in my tanks, they were about $14 each online from pet mountain and the thermometer was like $2. So far they work great. Keeps the temp very stable and I haven't had any problems with them. :)

I've heard that the bulbs on the Minibows get very hot and burn through the hood.. so if you leave it on, unscrew the glass cover in front of the bulb, and install a piece of aluminum foil behind the bulb to protect the hood from the heat! You should definitely get a designated heater and thermometer so you can keep your betta happy and comfy. :)

No. The heater is to keep the temp stable when the light is off at night, but you still want light during the day. You might want to consider replacing the incandesent bulb with a flouresent. I did that in my 2.5 bowfront and I know my plants like it better!

You may want to get that pineapple out of the tank... There have been several reports on the forums that it has metal inside, and the pain chips off to expose the metal, so it starts to rust very fast and can make your fish sick.